Town Square

Graham wins Distinguished School award

Original post made
on Apr 24, 2013

Graham Middle School has been named a California Distinguished School -- an honorary title given by state education officials to schools that have displayed significant improvement from one school year to the next.

Posted by Oh Waaah
a resident of Castro City
on Apr 24, 2013 at 12:57 pm

Let's just remember, on anonymous message boards, there will always be at least one person who wants to find some sort of negative, trying to make people as miserable as they are I guess.
Didn't work, I loved reading this story and glad people are proud. They should be.

Posted by Interested Observer
a resident of another community
on Apr 24, 2013 at 6:07 pm

Congratulations to Graham!! As a former elementary principal, I can attest that these awards are not easy to get. It took our school two application cycles to achieve! The application itself is lengthy, time consuming and extremely detailed in terms of school climate, best teaching strategies, and on-going achievement improvement. Furthermore, I am extremely impressed with the five essential elements that the school and community focus on - "I belong," Do no harm," "Together we can," "Pursue knowledge," and "Take pride." It would be nice if those who choose to negatively comment here were guided by these same elements! Again, congratulations to Principal Thompsen, AP Chesley, certificated and classified staff, all students, their families, the community at large and the district!! It takes the whole community to achieve this recognition.

Posted by Graham Parent
a resident of Old Mountain View
on May 6, 2013 at 9:15 pm

I agree with reality above. Thompson will take credit for anything. There are no original thoughts. This is what happens when you appoint favorites from within based on twisted loyalties who never had to compete with their peers or prove themselves on an equal footing. She is just a mouth piece for district initiatives at the expense of individualized high-quality instruction. In the end it's all about raising a few test scores at the lower end. For bright kids, Graham is still stuck on mediocre.